Barrister Matthew Shardlake is faced with the most terrifying threat in the age of Tudor England: his own imprisonment in the Tower of London. Harsh autumn winds stir the English countryside as King Henry VIII, along with a thousand soldiers and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, make their way from London to York after a violent uprising.

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Publisher's Summary

C. J. Sansom is an international best-selling author known for riveting suspense and intricately constructed mysteries. His atmospheric prose has earned him an Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award, among other accolades.

In the third novel in this riveting series, barrister Matthew Shardlake is faced with the most terrifying threat in the age of Tudor England: his own imprisonment in the Tower of London.

Harsh autumn winds stir the English countryside as King Henry VIII, along with a thousand soldiers and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, make their way from London to York after a violent uprising. Shardlake and his loyal assistant, John Barack, have a secret mission - they must transport a dangerous conspirator back to London for interrogation.

After a local glazier is murdered, Shardlake finds that this death seems not only connected to the prisoner, but to the royal family itself. Shardlake grows more determined when he realizes that a greater threat looms over the crown.

This is the second CJ Sansom I have read or listened to. (I read Dissolution because I abhore abridged and that's all Audible had of that title.) I really enjoyed the historical accuracy and setting - the author is a historian. Highly recommended if you like period mysteries. If you have to have a gun battle every five minutes, they are probably not your cup of tea.

This is the third volume in the Matthew Shardlake mystery series. While I felt that the first book in the series was first rate I was disappointed with the second book which, I felt, had little real plot and in which the identity of the murderer was fairly obvious. I had hoped that the third volume would be better and I was not disappointed.

The events of this book take place during the period when Catherine Howard was Queen and the King and Queen were on a Royal Progress to the North Country after a northern rebellion. Matthew Shardlake, who is part of the Progress because of a job he has been given, finds himself involved in the investigation of a death and that investigation takes him deeply into matters that involve the Royal Family, the succession and the rebellion. And, for him, these are very dangerous waters for him to be involved in.

Everything about this book is great. The death may be an accident or may be murder. If it is murder, the reason might be pedestrian or involve treason. Matthew's position and personal safety are in jeopardy, there are many different threads to the story and they may or may not be related and, on top of that, there are sufficient red herrings that the truth is not clear until the very end. On top of all of that you get the chance to learn more about Matthew's assistant, John Barack, and the people involved in his life. All in all, as much as I liked the first volume I felt that this one was far better.

Part of the enjoyment of this book is the chance to learn something about early sixteenth century life in England – how people lived, how they thought, the tension between those who were still Catholic and those who now believed in the Church Of England and, most horrifying of all, imprisonment in The Tower Of London and what passed for justice at the time.

This book is narrated by Steven Crossley who does as good a job as he did with the previous volumes. Individual characters are generally recognizable by their own accents and way of speaking and there is continuity of tone with the previous volumes. If you enjoyed Dissolution you should enjoy this even more.

Excellent illustration of the vulnerability of anyone who isn’t the King of England. I felt the axe-grinding a bit more in this one with the question of Henry VIII’s legitimacy and treatment of his northern subjects. Those not willing to go quietly along with the new order are swept aside, imprisoned, tortured, executed and their lands and property seized. This makes for a mighty unquiet populace and a secret group of conspirators has been operating quietly, waiting for a chance to disprove Henry’s right to the throne and reestablish the legitimate line. Unfortunately, it looks as though they’ve missed their opportunity and their numbers are dwindling. This sets in motion a plot to find incriminating documents; to destroy or secure them is unclear, but of course many people have to die in the effort.

Basically this is what Shardlake and Barak get caught up in. Commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, Matthew is attached to the King’s Progress to York. Ostensibly to pacify the rebellious northerners, but also to meet with the Scottish King and effect reconciliation, the Progress is really a big showcase of Henry’s right and might. Matthew’s first duty is to protect a political prisoner from an overzealous jailer who’s been known to “accidentally” kill prisoners awaiting torture in the Tower. This is easier said than done and of course shenanigans and poor-sportsmanship ensue.

There is more taunting of Matthew’s hunchbacked condition in this one and it pained me almost as much as it pained him. The biggest insult came directly from the King when he taunted Shardlake during a highly public ceremony. But to make up for it, Shardlake makes a great friend who becomes a surrogate father to him. Fellow lawyer Giles Wrenne is terminally ill and endears himself to Matthew and Barak so they will act as guide and nursemaid on a journey back to London to find his estranged nephew. All well and good, but as the relationship and story progress, hints and suspicion grow. Unfortunately only for me as a reader, not for Shardlake and Barak. Shardlake is too busy suspecting his old friend from the law college and Barak’s new girlfriend Tamesin.

The installment takes place mostly during Henry VIII's great "passage" to York in which he went, with 3000 of his courtiers and soldiers, on a tour of Northern England to impress and cow the locals.

Sansom has done a superb job recreating this world. One of the best aspects for me is Sansom's ability to reconstruct how these people thought. It is hard for us, at this distance, to understand the role of religion and the monarchy in most people's lives in 1540. Sansom gives us not only the details of this world but an insight into the emotional and philosophical life of 1540.

Poor Matthew Shardlake! The new man in power is happy to do a favor for him and only wants a teeny little favor in return. This is a time when saying "no" would cost you your life! Excellent mystery!
Once again I came away with a new sense of the evil in the soul of Henry VIII. Also, this story brought out a slightly different view of another character, Richard III, former Duke of Gloucester. I enjoyed it very much!

Steven Crossly turned in a fine performance reading this absorbing tale. The story starts out slowly, but picks up speed as the plot develops. I particularly appreciated Crossly's pacing, which keeps the story moving, but also allows the listener to absorb the myriad complex details which author C.J. Sansom embedded throughout the narrative.

Good historical fiction is hard to find - C.J. Sansom's well-researched novels help to fill a major void.

This was the third book that I have read in the Matthew Shardlake mystery series and I was not disappointed. I love the mixture of history and fiction and I love the main character Shardlake, in addition to his assistant, Barak. The story has a lot of action in it too.

The stories get better and better as we get to know Shardlake, and I am already looking forward to reading the fourth book in the series, "Revelation."

What made the experience of listening to Sovereign the most enjoyable?

Good story. I figured out the ultimate villain before he/she/it was disclosed, but the situation is sufficiently ambiguous that suspense is maintained. Normally I just listen to audiobooks on my daily walks (which take an hour or two) but in this case, I actually stuck the earphones in and listened to the last three chapters at home.

What other book might you compare Sovereign to and why?

None comes to mind. If there are any others which are as good at recreating the historical environment, I'd sure like to know about them.

What does Steven Crossley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Since there's a lot of dialogue in the book, it lends itself to different voices. However, there were times when I had trouble distinguishing when it was the main character, Shardlake, or his assistant, Barrak, speaking. Once or twice another male character's voice entered into the confusion.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - much too long. Although it would be fine for an extended car trip.

Any additional comments?

There were a few instances in which Shardlake acts with a lack of foresight that one would not expect even from a less intelligent man. For instance, he fails to lock a door when he is left alone with an object of value while Barrak goes off to do something.

There are some parts involving torture which I found a little hard to take. Nothing that shouldn't be part of the story, though.

Learned a little history along the way, which led me to checking things out on Wikipedia. Don't do that till you've finished the book, however - it will ruin the story a bit.

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